The present invention relates to appliances for dental treatment, and more particularly to ultrasonic appliances such as scaler appliances comprising instruments that vibrate at ultrasonic frequencies.
This type of appliance essentially comprises a handpiece including a transducer mechanically coupled to a vibrating instrument referred to as an “tip” or a “sonotrode”, with the handpiece being connected to an ultrasound generator.
The tip is an interchangeable piece that presents a wide variety of shapes depending on the treatment for which it is intended. Examples of such tips are described in particular in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,312,256 and 4,283,175. The amplitude or the power of the ultrasonic waves transmitted by the generator also depends on the type of treatment that is to be carried out. For example, for periodontal debridement, the required power/amplitude is well below that needed for removing scale (“scaling”). Similarly, the type of tip for periodontal debridement is different from that used for scaling. Consequently, for each type of dental treatment, there exist one or more families of tips that are designed to operate in with ultrasonic waves in a determined power and amplitude range.
At present, there exist dental treatment appliances that comprise an ultrasound generator of power that can be adjusted as a function of the treatment being carried out and as a function of the tip being used. In order to make such appliances easier for practitioners to use, the ultrasound generators are fitted with keys for automatically selecting a power range appropriate for the treatment. Those keys are identified by a color or equivalent code enabling the practitioner to select the appropriate power range.
Nevertheless, as mentioned above, tips are used that are specific to each kind of treatment and that are designed to operate in one of the preset power ranges on the appliance. Consequently, the practitioner must also verify that the tip placed on the handpiece does indeed match the selected power range, or conversely must select the power range that corresponds to the tip mounted on the handpiece. For this purpose, one of the prior art solutions consists in packaging each tip on a distinctive support element. The support element has markings that correspond to the marking on the keys for selecting power ranges. For example, if the keys are identified by a color code, then each support presents a color code corresponding to that of the key that serves to select the best power range for the tip placed on the support.
Nevertheless, that solution still presents drawbacks. Once the tip has been put into place on the handpiece, it is separated from its support, and consequently from the means that enable the appropriate power range to be identified. Thus, during treatment, it becomes difficult for the practitioner to make sure that the power range that has been selected does indeed match the tip present on the handpiece. In addition, since the support and the tip are separable, there exists a risk of a tip put onto a bad support, i.e. into a support that identifies a power range that does not match the tip, or vice versa.
Another solution consists in marking the tip by sticking on a label or by applying paint or varnish thereto. Nevertheless, that type of solution is unsatisfactory because of the severe conditions to which tips are subjected. In operation, the tip vibrates at frequencies of several tens of kilohertz and over amplitudes of several hundreds of micrometers, and it does so in moist environments. Furthermore, prior to each use, the tip must necessarily be sterilized in autoclave sterilizer appliances that generate temperatures around 130° C. Tip marking does not withstand such conditions of use and disappears very quickly.